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The Walkabouts
The Walkabouts is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1984. The core members are vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman. Although the rest of the line-up has changed occasionally, for most of the time the other members have been Michael Wells, Glenn Slater and Terri Moeller. The band draws inspiration from folk and country music, particularly Townes Van Zandt, Neil Young and Johnny Cash, but also from other types of artists and musical styles such as Scott Walker, Leonard Cohen, French chanson and Jacques Brel. Their sound is typically rich, with string arrangements and keyboards in addition to the standard rock instruments. In reviews the band's music is often described asmelancholic or mellow, while Eckman's lyrics, concerning such themes as human relations, loneliness and restlessness, are often emphasized as poetic. The Walkabouts have achieved commercial success and a strong fanbase in Europe, where they have done promotion and extensive touring since early 1990s. They have occasionally even made it high on the record charts in countries such as Greece andNorway. History Carla Torgerson and Chris Eckman met and began playing music together in 1983 while attending Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. In 1984 they moved to Seattle, and the band was born when they joined forces with Chris' two younger brothers, drummer Grant and bassist Curt. The Eckman brothers had been playing in various punk rock and pop groups during their college years, and Carla came from a folk and street singing background. The band took their name from Nicolas Roeg's cult film, Walkabout.[1] They released their first EP, 22 Disasters, in early 1985. Curt Eckman then left the band, to be replaced by Michael Wells. Their second EP, Linda Evans/Cyclone, was released in 1987. The following year they released their first album, See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens, on the PopLlama label, before being signed by Sub Pop as that label's first non-grunge band. Adding keyboard player and multi-instrumentalist Glenn Slater, they released three albums on Sub Pop over the next few years -''Cataract'' (1989), Rag & Bone (1990), and Scavenger (1991). They also toured extensively, particularly in Europe. In 1992 they left Sub Pop Seattle, but remained with Sub Pop Europe who issued three more albums, New West Motel (1993), Satisfied Mind (1993), and Setting the Woods on Fire (1994). Drummer Terri Moeller replaced Grant Eckman in 1992, when he left to care for his newborn son, Dakota Eckman.[2] Satisfied Mind was their first of several albums largely or wholly comprising songs originally written and recorded by an eclectic variety of other artists, including Nick Cave, Charlie Rich, Johnny Rivers, Patti Smith, Mary Margaret O'Hara, and Gene Clark. Their 1996 collection of unreleased songs, Death Valley Days, also included songs by Neil Young, Nick Drake and Bob Dylan, and in 2000 they issued Train Leaves At Eight, which broadened the approach further by including songs by European artists including Mikis Theodorakis, Goran Bregović, Jacques Brel and Neu!.[2] In 1995 the band signed with Virgin Records in Germany and released Devil's Road (1996) - recorded in part with the Warsaw Philharmonic - and Nighttown (1997), leading to new levels of success in Europe. The video for The Light Will Stay On, the lead single from Devil's Road was in heavy rotation on MTV Europe. Michael Wells left the band for several years in 1996, rejoining in 2003. In 1999 they moved to the German record label, Glitterhouse Records (the successor to Sub Pop Europe), and released Trail of Stars (1999), Train Leaves At Eight (2000), Ended Up A Stranger (2001), Slow Days With Nina (2003) - an EP tribute to Nina Simone- and Acetylene (2005). In 2010 guitarist Paul Austin joined the band to begin work on a long awaited new album titled Travels In The Dustland, scheduled for release in Europe on October 21, 2011, and in North America in early November. Side projects Eckman and Torgerson have also released albums as side projects under the name "Chris & Carla" and as solo artists. Carla Torgerson has worked with Greek musician Akis Boyatzis and his band Sigmatropic on their album 16 Haiku & Other Stories (2001). Later Torgerson has released a solo album Saint Stranger (2004) with help of Akis Boyatzis. Chris Eckman has worked in 1996-2003 with Norvegian band Midnight Choir and teamed with Al DeLoner of Midnight Choir in Electronica-project called "Höst" for an album The Damage Suite (2001). Also Eckman has worked in recent years with Willard Grant Conspiracy on the albums Regard The End and Let It Roll, as well as with The Bambi Molesters. Eckman is also a member of the trio Dirtmusic along with Chris Brokawand Hugo Race and he has worked with the band Tamikrest from Mali. These two acts toured Europe as a double bill in the spring of 2010. Eckman has also worked with Tosca (band) on projects including the song "John Lee Huber", and with Rupert Huber ofTosca (band) on the album "L/O/N/G" Terri Moeller has also formed The Beltanes with Eric Alton, formerly of X-15, releasing one cassette EP, entitled Love Punks (1990), and The Transmissionary Six with Paul Austin, formerly of Willard Grant Conspiracy. She released a solo CD under the pseudonym Terri Tarantula in 2010. Band member history Current line-up shown in bold. Discography EPs *''22 Disasters'' (1985 - Necessity Records - produced by Terry Date & the Walkabouts) *''Rag & Bone'' (1990 - Sub Pop - produced by Tony Kroes, Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts) Studio albums *''See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens'' (1988 - PopLlama - produced by Tony Kroes, Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts) *''Cataract'' (1989 - Sub Pop - produced by Tony Kroes, Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts) *''Scavenger'' (1991 - Sub Pop - produced by Gary Smith) *''New West Motel'' (1993 - Sub Pop - produced by Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts) *''Satisfied Mind'' (1993 - Sub Pop - produced by Kevin Suggs & the Walkabouts) *''Setting the Woods on Fire'' (1994 - Sub Pop - produced by Ed Brooks & the Walkabouts) *''Devil's Road'' (1996 - Virgin, Germany - produced by Victor Van Vugt) *''Nighttown'' (1997 - Virgin, Germany - produced by Victor Van Vugt) *''Trail of Stars'' (1999 - Glitterhouse Records - produced by Phill Brown & the Walkabouts) *''Train Leaves at Eight'' (2000 - Glitterhouse - Kevin Suggs & Walkabouts) *''Ended Up a Stranger'' (2001 - Glitterhouse - produced by Larry Crane, Phill Brown & the Walkabouts) *''Acetylene'' (2005 - Glitterhouse - produced by Tucker Martine & the Walkabouts) *''Travels in the Dustland'' (2011 - Glitterhouse) Compilations *''Death Valley Days: Lost Songs and Rarities, 1985–1995'' (1996 - Glitterhouse) - Rare or previously unreleased songs 1985–1995 *''Watermarks: Selected Songs, 1991 to 2002'' (2002 - Innerstate) - An anthology featuring the best of the Walkabouts from their Innerstate, Glitterhouse, and Virgin Records releases 1991-2002 *''Slow Days With Nina'' (2003 - Shingle Street Records) - Tribute to Nina Simone, EP *''Drunken Soundtracks: Lost Songs and Rarities, 1995–2001'' (2002 - Glitterhouse) - Rare or previously unreleased songs 1995–2001, 2-CDs set *''Shimmers (Walkabouts album) / Shimmers (Best of ...)'' (2003 -Glitterhouse) - An anthology featuring the best of the Walkabouts from their Glitterhouse and Virgin releases 1993-2001 *''Got No Chains / The Songs of The Walkabouts'' (2009 - Glitterhouse) - Remastered versions of 15 Walkabouts songs + those same 15 songs performed by others - a tribute disc - 2-CDs set DVDs *''Life: The Movie'' Collected Films & Clips (2012 - Glitterhouse) - Contains "Live in Prague" video (same concert as in Prague bootleg), "Tracking The Walkabouts", a 40-minute "on-the-road" documentary, "Walkie Talkie", 40 minutes of interview footage and all 9 official video clips Singles Official bootlegs List of official bootlegs (sold at concerts) and mailorder only releases. Album details Cataract Cataract cover Cataract is the band's second album by American alternative country band The Walkabouts released on March 1, 1989 through Sub Pop Records. Harold DeMuir wrote for "Trouser Press Record Guide, 4th Ed." that "The full-length 'Cataract' resonates with rueful Americana on such tracks as 'Whiskey XXX', "Hell's Soup Kitchen" and "Long Black Veil" (not the traditional song), marking The Walkabouts as a distinctive band with loads of potential."[3] Track listing All tracks written by The Walkabouts.[7] #"Whiskey xxx" – 2:56 #"Hell's Soup Kitchen" – 3:24 #"Whereabouts Unknown" – 3:01 #"End-In-Tow" – 3:23 #"Bones of Contention" – 4:38 #"Home as Found" – 2:38 #"Smokestack" – 3:04 #"The Wicked Skipper" – 1:38 #"Drille Terriers" – 2:24 #"Specimen Days" – 3:44 #"Long Black Veil" – 5:01 #"Goodbye (to all That)" – 3:05 Release history References Category:Bands